TEACHING staff in the county are now being trained to carry out Covid tests on students and staff.

In December, the Government announced plans for secondary schools, colleges and special schools to begin testing from the start of January. No dates have yet been announced for primary and early years settings.

The Department for Education said: "All staff will be offered voluntary, weekly Covid-19 screening ‘lateral flow’ tests to identify anyone who has the virus and may be asymptomatic. Students and staff will also be able to access voluntary ‘serial testing’ if one of their contacts in school or college tests positive, allowing them to stay in education by taking a daily test in the morning for seven school/college days."

Cath Mc-Evoy-Carr, executive director for adult and children’s services at Northumberland County Council, commented on the roll-out: “Teachers and support staff in schools are being trained to carry out lateral flow testing on students and staff in line with Public Health guidance.

"Additional support is being offered to all schools, settings and providers by the local authority should they find they require it to train staff and administer testing. "